New Found Feelings
by dira
Summary: Haruko has discovered some new found feelings for Sakuragi. non yaoi


New Found Feelings 

  
"Okay, everybody ! Practice is over !" hollered the team manager of Shohoku's basketball team. Her voice echoed throughout the indoor basketball court. She glanced over at her co-manager, Haruko who had already packed her bag. 

"Are you off visiting Hanamichi again, Haruko ?" 

"Yes," Haruko answered. She tucked back her brown hair behind her ear. "He's been doing so well this couple of weeks now. Isn't that right , Ayako san ?" Haruko asked Shohoku's basketball team manager, Ayako. 

"Yes, he is," Ayako tapped her chin with the paper fan she is holding. Ayako looked at Haruko and smiled secretly. "That Hanamichi is going to cause us a massive headache again when he gets back into this team," Ayako sighed. Haruko smiled. 

"I wonder if he will be able to play basketball again as well as he did before," Haruko said as she looked at Ayako questionably. Ayako's mouth twitched and she frowned. 

"Of course he will !" Ayako said as she slapped Haruko's back playfully. "This is Hanamichi remember ? But he will have to go through a series of hard training. Possibly even harder than before," Ayako continued. 

"Don't worry Aya chan ! Since I'm the new captain, I'll make sure Hanamichi gets the hard training he deserves !" popped in Miyagi, Shohoku's point guard and also team captain. He had heard the girls' conversation and couldn't help but to join in. Hanamichi Sakuragi is also his teammate, of course he will help. This is also a chance to impress Ayako. 

"You think Sakuragi will listen to you ?" Mitsui, another team member barged in. Miyagi made a face. "I barely listen to 'captain' over here and you expect him to listen to Miyagi ?" Mitsui snickered. 

"I'll make him listen," Miyagi said determinedly. "My time has come to lead this team, so I will," 

"He shouldn't be captain," Mitsui muttered. Since Akagi and Kogure left the team, Mitsui is the only remaining senior from last year. He's been keeping to himself most of the time. Also it is not certain if he wants to be captain though. Anyway, Mitsui and Miyagi always argue with each other. 

"What did you say?" asked Miyagi in an irritated tone. 

"I'm going," Mitsui picked up his bag and headed for the locker room. 

"That Mitsui. .." Miyagi mumbled. Miyagi stuffed his things into his bag and sling the bag over his shoulders. "I'm going too. Say hi to Hanamichi for me," Miyagi said before he left for the locker room as well. 

Haruko stood up and lifted up her bag pack. "Well, I'm going now, Ayako," Haruko said. 

"Bye bye. Wish him to get well soon," Ayako grinned. "Knowing Hanamichi he'll probably says, 'get well soon ? ha ha ha.. I am a genius. I am already well !' ne, Haruko ?" 

Haruko giggled. "See you tomorrow !" Haruko bid Ayako goodbye before she walked out the basketball court. That Haruko ... Ayako thought. She is still oblivious that Hanamichi likes her. 

  
Haruko walked along the shoulder of the road towards the train station. She thought about the Shohoku's basketball team now. Her older brother, Akagi, former captain of the team has left along with Kogure to take the university entrance exam. Miyagi is now the new captain. Mitsui stayed with the team instead of following Akagi & Kogure. Although Miyagi and Mitsui may argue sometimes but they get along just fine. Then there's Yatsuda, Kakuta, Shiosaki, Ishii, Sasuoga and Kuwata the other members of the team. When Ayako invited Haruko to be her co-manager, Haruko took the invitation. Ayako said that it was a handful to managed such ambitious team. Since Haruko knows so much about basketball and never stops going to every match and practice, Haruko was perfect for the job. 

Rukawa Kaede. The ace of the team. Haruko blushed at the thought of Rukawa. Rukawa is currently training with the Japan Youth Basketball team. He'll be back in the team soon. Haruko's major infatuation on that boy hardly goes unnoticed by her friends. It's no wonder. Tall, dark and cute; Rukawa even has his own fan club! But Rukawa has eyes only for basketball and nothing else. Haruko's infatuation mellowed down a little after she realized that. 

Now she is going to visit Sakuragi Hanamichi, the other starting member of Shohoku's basketball team. She recalled the first time she saw Sakuragi. Flaming red hair and with a height of 188 cm, he seemed perfect for basketball. So, Haruko asked him to join the team. He agreed but with such complications. First he got into a fight with Rukawa. Which was not his fault, but Haruko misunderstood. She told Sakuragi off. (He took it real bad) She apologized later. After clearing that up, Sakuragi got into trouble with the (then) captain of Shohoku's basketball team, her brother, Akagi ! Sakuragi couldn't take the pressure of being 'bullied' by Akagi by doing a lot of basic trainings, so he quit. Only for a few minutes because then he was back in team again ! 

Things were going well for Sakuragi until Miyagi & Mitsui came into the team. Former MVP Mitsui wanted to take revenge on the basketball team. At the same time he also wants to fight with Miyagi who had already entered the team. Mitsui then confessed that he really wanted to be back on the basketball team. It seems that the final line up of Shohoku's basketball team has been formed. The starting line was Akagi, Rukawa, Mitsui, Miyagi and Sakuragi. 

Shohoku's aim was to win the Inter High competition and finally proceeds to the national championship. They worked hard to fight against Shoyo, who came in second during the Inter High last year. They won 62 to 60. After that hard effort they were then against Kainan High, champion for the last 16 consecutive years for the Inter High competition. Even though they all played very hard, they lost. Sakuragi was so upset with the game because he thought that he was the one who had failed his comrades. He didn't turned up for practices. Haruko didn't know what happened but the next day, Sakuragi was full of energy and determined to go and beat Ryonan High so that Shohoku could enter the national championship. It is also notable to mention that Sakuragi had shaved his head. 

Shohoku managed to beat Ryonan High and with a total of 2 wins and 1 lose, secured a place to enter the national championship. During the national championship, Shohoku who was categorized as a C class, was up against Toyotama who was an AA class. With the hard work of the team, they beat Toyotama. After that, it was a match against Sannoh, a very well known school team. Sannoh was also a favorite by the crowd to win the national championship. Shohoku challenged the crowd and managed to win over Sannoh ! But Shohoku failed to win against Aiwa College despite their win against the mighty Sannoh. 

Although Haruko did not play any major part in any of the match, she still felt so proud that Shohoku managed to get that far into the National championship. She also felt like she had contributed something to the team. She had introduced Sakuragi to basketball. Sports incompetent Sakuragi had miraculously transformed into a starting member of the team, the Power Forward of the team in only 4 months ! It would take someone quite some time to achieve that stage. 

But Sakuragi had trained hard and well. To do what he did would take a tremendous amount of willpower. Sakuragi used to break all the rules in the games and was thrown out from the games. He bounced back to play in the next game in full speed. 

It was that Sakuragi whom everyone expects to foul up. He proved everyone wrong. A fast learner, Sakuragi surprised the rival teams' coach by his improvement in a short time. 

Unfortunately for Sakuragi though, he suffered a pain in the back during the match with Sannoh. He was advised to rest, but he didn't want to and went on playing the game. He scored the winning point. Sakuragi's basketball life seemed to have ended there. Sakuragi was then sent to a treatment center for his back pain. Because he had only acquire his basketball skills in a crash course of 4 months, he would surely lose the skills if his treatment was to go on for a long time. 

As co-manager, Haruko's first job was to report the team's progress to Hanamichi. She wrote a few letters to him as one form of communication. He'd write back. This went on a few times. She'd visit him sometimes to give him encouragement and support. Usually she would go together with Sakuragi Gundan consists of Yohei, Ookutsu, Noma and Takamiya. But today they said that they'd pass because they want to try their luck on pachinko first before they go and visit Sakuragi. Haruko arrived at the train station and board the train to reach her destination. 

  
"Hello. I'm here to visit Sakuragi Hanamichi," Haruko replied to the nurse receptionist behind the counter. 

"Sakuragi Hanamichi .. .." The receptionist trailed. "Oh, that boy," she sighed. Haruko smiled. She knew Sakuragi is bound to be popular wherever he goes. 

"Are you his girlfriend ?" the receptionist suddenly asked. Haruko snapped out from her thoughts. 

"Why would you say that ?" Haruko asked, surprised. 

"Well, you are always here visiting him. I just thought that maybe you were his girlfriend," the receptionist shrugged. 

"Ah.. no, I'm just his friend," Haruko answered sheepishly. 

"He is quite a loud one, that Hanamichi," the receptionist continued as if she didn't hear Haruko's reply. 

"He is," Haruko smiled and nodded. 

"Haruko san ?" 

Haruko turned around at the sound of her name. There stood the red headed Sakuragi. 

"Sakuragi kun!" Haruko gave a small wave. She walked towards him and he was just grinning. 

"How are you ?" Haruko asked. "Is everything okay ?" 

"Hahahaha… don't worry Haruko san! I am a genius!" Sakuragi answered. They both sat down on the provided couch. 

"I think you're growing taller Sakuragi kun," Haruko said. 

"It's just 1 centimeter. Soon I'll be matching up to Gori !" Sakuragi laughed again. Haruko can't help but to laugh along. 

"Everybody is waiting for the day you would come back on the basketball team. You are one of their best players, you know!" Haruko exclaimed. Sakuragi laughed again. 

"Hahaha ! I'm the best ? I'll try my best for you, Haruko san," He replied. 

"That's good to know," Haruko smiled. _Are you his girlfriend ?_ Suddenly the question rang in her mind. Doki … doki. Her heart beats faster. 

"I've been practicing a little of basketball everyday," Sakuragi told her. "I'm trying to get back my tensai skills," Sakuragi went on about his exercises. 

Haruko looked over Sakuragi and she felt like her face is growing hotter. Eh ? What's going on ? 

_I like it very much . . . _

Haruko suddenly remembered the time when Sakuragi held both of shoulder and said that. He had said that he liked basketball very much. She remembered that she felt exactly like this on that day. In fact it was pretty much like she used to feel for- 

"Haruko san ?" Sakuragi looked at her. Haruko blinked as she got out from her daydream. 

"Ah ?" Haruko uttered. "Umm.." She smiled faintly. 

"Are you sick ?" 

"Ah.. no," Haruko quickly answered. "It's nothing," 

Sakuragi looked skeptical. He shrugged. 

_I like it very much. . ._

Why are Sakuragi's words keep on flashing in her mind ? Haruko glanced over to him. He was bending down tying his shoelaces. Then her heart goes faster again. '_doki..doki..doki_' it went. Sakuragi looks cute. Haruko smiled secretly. '_Eh ? What am I thinking ?_' Haruko eyes widen again. 

The scene where Haruko misunderstood Sakuragi came to her. Haruko thought that Sakuragi beat up Rukawa. She offered the Rukawa some help, but Rukawa snapped at her. Haruko was a bit upset. Sakuragi then punches Rukawa and they fought. 

_How dare you hurt Haruko's feelings !! _

Sakuragi's words to Rukawa before the fight between the boys begin. 

Haruko's felt her cheeks getting hot. She never realized that he was, well, a little charming. Suddenly every little thing that she and Sakuragi had done together flashed in her mind. Haruko had helped Sakuragi to buy his first and second basketball shoes. Haruko consoled him. She tried to build his confidence back. She said that even geniuses make mistakes. When Sakuragi had stayed behind to develop his shooting skills, Haruko along with Sakuragi Gundan came and supported him practice in the gym everyday. 

_ I like it very much . . _

Haruko still remembers how Sakuragi hands grabbed her shoulder as he said that. That scene has been rewinding and playing in her mind for the last couple of minutes. Why ? Is she - 

_Do I like Sakuragi kun ?_

Haruko had felt something like this before about.. about Rukawa kun. Unlike Sakuragi, Haruko knows nothing much about Rukawa. She was just admiring him from a distance. Admiring him ? Did I just admire him ? To say it was an infatuation, yes. 

The feelings she has for Sakuragi right now is a little different from what she had for Rukawa. She felt really comfortable around Sakuragi. 

_I like him ? More than a friend ? Sakuragi kun ?_

Haruko was a little startled by her new found feelings towards Sakuragi. Unlike what she felt for Rukawa. _Actually deep in your heart, you keep thinking about that scene._ A little voice told her. _Really ?_ Haruko asked herself silently. 

"Sakuragi kun ?" Haruko pulled his sleeve to get his attention. Sakuragi stopped talking and glanced at her. 

"Do you want to have lunch tomorrow ?" Haruko asked awkwardly. She looked up to him and smiled. Sakuragi looked surprised.

"Sure ! I would never turn down an invitation from you," He grinned. "But I have to sneak out first," He rubbed his chin trying to think. "That nurse guards me very tightly. I can barely play basketball,"

"I'm so glad," Haruko sighed as she looked down. She let go of his sleeves. 

"Huh ?" Sakuragi asked. "What did you say ?" Sakuragi continued. Haruko smiled as she blushed. 

"I'm so glad you are my friend," Haruko looked at him. Did she see a hint of blush on his face ? 

"So, I'll see you tomorrow," Haruko said. Sakuragi smiled as he leaned back the couch. 

"I can't wait to go back," Sakuragi sighed. 

_I can't wait for you to come back too._   



End file.
